


A Successful Marriage

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Bombs, Danny/Melissa Mentioned, Episode Related, Episode: s07e18 E Malama Pono (Handle with Care), First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, POV Steve, Past Rachel Edwards/Danny "Danno" Williams, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-26 23:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9928301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: "You said you wanted to marry me while we were trapped in the middle of a jungle with a uranium bomb that's set to go off in less than an hour. Your timing is terrible, babe."





	

**Author's Note:**

> An alternate take of what could have happened during the conversation with Steve and Danny near the creek when Steve compared his relationship with Danny to Danny's marriage to Rachel.

"Are you comparing my failed marriage to our relationship?" Danny asks. He's squinting like he's annoyed and confused, which only irritates Steve further. Danny was the one who said that their "marriage" was becoming predictable years ago, and he's the one who made Steve feel insecure and hurt. It's really all Danny's fault if you think about it.

"No, I'm comparing our relationship to your marriage when it was succeeding," Steve retorts. Rachel may no longer be consulted about major decisions regarding anything but Danny's kids, but Steve thought Danny would tell him when he was thinking about retiring. He thought he mattered at least that much to Danny, but apparently he was wrong. The fact that Danny is thinking of leaving Five-0, thinking of leaving _him_ , and didn't even have the courtesy to say anything bothers Steve more than it probably should.

"This is... this is your version of successful?" Danny laughs, and his sarcasm twists the knife that's already lodged in Steve's heart. "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't actually married."

Steve glares at the dumb piece of wood that he's trying to pry off the truck and channels his bitterness into leveraging the crowbar under the wood. "I've noticed, but thanks for the reminder."

For a moment, the only noise Steve can hear is the sound of wood being pulled off of the truck. He would congratulate himself for somehow rendering Danny Williams silent if he didn't know that Danny's silence was a very bad thing. He knows Danny well enough to know that Danny is staring at him and trying to crawl inside Steve's head. Which is exactly what Steve doesn't want, because there are secrets there. Secrets that Steve has hidden, for both Danny's sake and his.

Eventually, Danny manages to speak, and it's exactly what Steve expected and dreaded that he would say. "Are you... do you want us to be married or something?"

Steve doesn't say anything. He just grits his teeth and focuses on the truck. If Steve was talking to anyone but Danny, they would sense how pissed off he is right now and know to leave well enough alone. But Danny has never known how to leave well enough alone, and he's always trying to figure out what Steve is thinking. Steve wishes he could hate Danny for that, but he can't bring himself to truly hate Danny at all, for anything. Which is his fucking problem to deal with, but Danny is stupidly attempting to make it his problem as well.

"That question wasn't rhetorical," Danny says.

A piece of wood snaps apart under Steve's crowbar. "Damn it."

Steve raises his hand to his forehead, wiping away the sweat that has appeared, probably more from this insane conversation than from the physical task he was doing. He doesn't know what the hell he's supposed to say to Danny. He's resigned himself to the fact that he will never get to kiss Danny, that they will never wake up in the same bed together, that they will never wear matching rings on their fingers, and that he will never be more than "Uncle Steve" to Danny's kids. He's even attempted to prepare himself for the day Danny marries Melissa or some other woman and Steve has to stand by Danny's side as his best man and act like he's thrilled instead of miserable. As long as he gets to have Danny in his life in some capacity, Steve can learn to deal with the sting of never having what he really wants.

But now there's the very real possibility that Danny will leave him, and apparently he wants to pick at this open wound before he goes. Very soon, he won't even have Danny as his friend or partner anymore. Danny will probably hand in his resignation tomorrow.

Steve sighs. He can feel Danny's gaze digging into the side of his head, and he knows Danny won't let him stay silent forever. He swallows the lump gathering in his throat. "Yeah, I do."

"I, uh, wow." Danny sounds stunned. Steve doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Is that all you've got? _Wow_?"

"This is a lot you're laying on me right now." He can hear Danny stepping closer to him. "You have the worst timing in the world, you know that?"

Steve manages to chuckle. "You're concerned about my _timing_? Did you even hear what I said?"

"Yeah, I did." Steve must be hallucinating because Danny almost sounds happy about this. "You said you wanted to marry me while we were trapped in the middle of a jungle with a uranium bomb that's set to go off in less than an hour. Your timing is terrible, babe."

He's surprised to still hear the word babe from Danny after everything he just admitted. He turns to look at Danny for the first time since this conversation took such a weird turn, and his eyes widen when he sees that Danny is grinning at him.

"Come here, you schmuck." And then Danny's hand is grabbing the back of his neck, and he's leaning up like he wants to kiss Steve. Steve leans down the rest of the way, and then they actually _are_ kissing.

Danny pulls back after a few seconds, but he's still smiling, which reassures Steve that he didn't misinterpret Danny's actions. "I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry. I'm not planning on retiring right now, but when I do, you'll be the first one to know."

Steve can live with that. He can live with anything as long as Danny keeps looking at him like he loves him too. "It's okay, and thank you."

Danny shakes his head. "You can thank me when we get out of here." He walks over to the side of the truck and picks up a large block of wood to carry over to the edge of the creek, which is preventing them from moving forward. "Seriously, worst timing ever," Danny mutters to himself.

Despite the perilous situation they're currently in, Steve can't stop grinning. But that bomb _is_ set to go off soon, so Steve focuses on getting wood off the truck so that they can build a bridge to cross the creek and hopefully get out of here and disarm the bomb. Once they get through this, Steve thinks that all of the things he wanted with Danny won't be far out of his reach. Hope blooms in his chest, and it makes Steve feel even more determined to get them out of the jungle.


End file.
